Sunday 13 September 2015

The Big Tidy

Introduction

For about the last 2 months, my hobby workbench has been completely unusable.  The problem has been building up over a long time, but has now grown well past the point where I can paint anything.  It's depressing, but there is no solution for this other than to spend the effort to tidy up.  So, after 2 months without any model-making, I bit the bullet and started a deep clean of the desk and its surroundings.

Before.  Both leaves of the desk are filled with stuff, there's no possibility of sitting at the desk and even if I could, the central paint station is piled high with stuff...

The Big Tidy

I'll not bore you with all the details of my 3-week long cleanup (3 weeks because I didn't have much time to spend on any one day, not because the task itself was so vast).  However, here are the main points:
  • Find more efficient packaging for finished models of unusual shapes & sizes.
  • Sort spare parts into fewer, smaller boxes.
  • Discard fragments of wood/plastic/foamcore that are really too small or tatty to be used.
  • Put away unstarted models or common parts (especially bases) into existing longer-term storage.
  • Collect part-completed models into trays, so that I can tell what's waiting for attention.
  • Clean up the huge amount of dust, metal filings, plastic scraps, dried blobs of paint &c. that had accumulated since my last tidy up!

...After.  It may not look much different, but it really is!  At least I can sit at the desk and get my feet under it now.

Needing Attention...

So, this was something of a shocker.  For the last few years, I've been trying to live by a self-imposed rule: "if you start it then you must finish it".  In other words, no model that has been assembled or undercoated may be put away until it is completed.  It sounds fine in theory...


In the picture above are all the part-finished models that I found on or near my desk.  By gathering them all in one place, I realised just how much this collection had grown out of control.  It's also painfully obvious how much space is taken by the part-made terrain pieces.  In comparison, the set of figures is not too big at all!

So, I really need to stop beating around the bush and just go and finish some of these projects.

Conclusion


Finally, after being out of action for the entire summer, my painting desk is ready to be used again  I'm beginning to feel quite enthusiastic about this!

So, I started to paint a few of the models that were closest to completion, with a view to finishing off all the easiest ones first.  About 1 hour into this task, my desk lamp started to flicker badly; it was as if I was at a disco.  Under these circumstances, I had to stop painting immediately.


One of my model-making lamp's fluorescent tubes (it has 2) had gone bad and would have to be replaced.  Of course, I didn't have a spare and none of the local shops carry such an item.  I'll need to try further afield, perhaps on my commute home from work on Monday.  As a backup plan, I've ordered a spare tube from eBay, though that could take a while to arrive.  So, no painting for at least a day or two more...

16 comments:

  1. Now of course you will never find anything! But tidying is a nessercary evil that should seldom encroach on any mans cave!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the other hand, I did find some other things that I had forgotten about :-) .

      Delete
  2. You're super lucky to have a dedicated hobby room. I'm stuck on the end of my dining table and have to clean up after every session, things still go missing on a regular basis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, technically it's only about a third of a room. Even so, I do appreciate having a dedicated hobby space very much indeed. Thanks, Bob.

      Delete
  3. That's a vast improvement but for how long will it stay like that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm, probably not long :-( . However, with luck it'll be a few years before it gets so messy as to be unusable again :-) .

      Delete
  4. One of my tricks is to hide stuff that's not yet painted - otherwise the sight of all that needs to be done can be overwhelming... I tend to work through figures in stages. I try to get figures cleaned, based and undercoated. We can then play with them, but more importantly they are ready to be painted when the mood takes. Nothing worse getting inspired to paint up some Vikings on a Saturday morning, only to find they are all still waiting to be primed. Within reason of course!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lee - but I also have many *more* boxes of "started-but-not-completed" models in storage. These were stowed away in years gone by, before I instigated my rule of "if started then leave the model out (until it becomes such a nuisance that I'm compelled to finish it)". Hmm...

      Delete
  5. A good post and a subject close to my heart. I am determined to finish a bunch of micro projects before Xmas but I want to reorganise/sell off/triage some of the horde first! Colgar, I think you should do the biker gang in that part done box next! ;P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm, "before Christmas" sounds doable - depending on how many of these micro projects you wish to complete :-) .

      The bikers are one of the longest-running items in my queue :-( . They've been waiting for attention for what seems like forever, as previous postings about my workbench will testify. But I hear you; I'll see what can be done...

      Delete
  6. I can just imagine your thoughts as you were tidying ...
    "I'd forgot I had that..."
    "So that's where that went..."
    "I thought I'd lost that...."
    "Coud have used those in the last game of..."
    Well done though C6, it must have taken some willpower to begin the task, let alone finish it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joe. There was indeed a lot of that, but also some "why am I keeping *that* scrap of material?".

      I'm not sure that a task like this is ever really finished, though...

      Delete
  7. I had that rule too ... if you start it then you must finish it. Didn't work out too well for me too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I'm still trying to stick to the rule: if it's started then it cannot be put away until finished. I haven't given up yet!

      Delete
  8. Just saw this post. I'm suffering from all the same hobby afflictions, I've just somehow managed to carve enough space to get some work done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, it comes and goes, doesn't it? Sometimes we're motivated to clean up and make an effort, sometimes not...

      Delete